Algol Jorajuria NM

Hi Algol Jorajuria!

Great work grinding the blitz ladder recently. I’ve analysed a sample of your latest wins and losses and distilled the most relevant themes for you.

1. What you already do well

• Dynamic piece play. In several Sicilians and French-Exchange games you willingly give up the bishop pair to seize the initiative (e.g. 23…Bxh3!!). Your positions come alive when you can push the tempo.
  
• Conversion technique in equal endgames. Your win vs AlexanderMatlak shows confident maneuvering of king and rook in a time scramble.
• Opening variety. You switch comfortably between 1.e4, 1.d4 and English structures, keeping opponents out of their prep.

2. Recurrent trouble spots

• Early structural concessions in the Advance Caro-Kann. In all three recent losses with 3.e5 you allowed …c5 followed by …e6/…e5 leaving you with an isolated pawn that became a target. Consider revisiting the Short System or the 4.Nf3 sideline to keep the centre compact.
• King safety vs. opposite-side castling. Games vs Chessdreamer2020 and ZakinIlay2306 collapsed once your h-pawn advance opened dark-square holes. Train the motif “pawn storms only when pieces are ready”.
• Time management. Five of your six losses ended with <10 s on your clock while the position was still drawable. Try the 15-second rule: if it’s not a critical moment, move within 15 s.
• Defending slightly worse positions. Instead of resource-hunting you often trade into lost rook endings (e.g. 30…e2??). Study “single-pawn rook endgames” to improve practical resistance.

3. Opening tweaks to test this week

• White vs Caro-Kann – Add 3.Nc3 (Two Knights) to avoid the structural headaches you faced in the Advance.
• Black vs 1.e4 – Your French Tarrasch setup is fine, but keep flexibility by mixing in a Najdorf-style …c5 against e4 when you feel tactical.
• Black vs 1.d4 – Your Nimzo move-orders are sharp; document the …d5 then …c5 transposition you used vs pianoskater. It scored well.

4. Targeted drill plan

1. Daily 20 min on Defensive tactics (start with “back-rank resources” & “interference”).
2. Three mini-matches this week beginning from the following critical positions:
   
   Play them out vs the engine until you can hold the draw with >30 s left.
3. Endgame flashcards: rook + four vs rook + four (create 10 positions; solve in <60 s each).

5. Mindset & practical tips

• Freeze-frame after every opponent move. Ask “What changed? What does my opponent want?” This will cut down on one-move blunders like 30…e2.
• Use the auto-analysis graph only after you annotate three lines yourself. This builds calculation discipline.
• Play one slow (15 + 10) game per training day to deepen your evaluation skills.

6. Tracking progress

Your current peaks: 2716 (2022-06-28) / 2503 (2022-07-15). Update the tracker every Sunday; aim for +30 Blitz and +50 Rapid by next month.

Keep going!

Small, consistent tweaks to your openings and clock handling will convert many of those flag losses into points. Let’s review another batch of games next week.